death penalty news April 7, 2005
USA: The death penalty necessary justice for criminals found guilty It may be the most ominous walk in the world. A mere 20 yards from a stark death row cell to the death chamber - arguably the loneliest and most despairing juncture in a human life. Now, the moments preceding this annihilation of a life is bizarre, at best. The accused is offered a last meal of their choice: lobster, steak, pheasant and truffles? He is kindly given some solace while talking to a spiritual advisor or religious leader of their faith. Finally, he is offered an opportunity to unite with friends and loved ones. Now, the convict solemnly takes his final walk down the bare hallway leading to the place where he knows, with an almost inescapable degree of certainty, he will take his last breath. This is the place he will die. How can a supposedly civilized society extract its justice from a system of vengeance like this? It's simple. These people, convicted beyond a reasonable doubt, will die in a way that neither you nor I are ever likely to be so lucky, or entitled to experience. Assorted methods are used across the country to carry out executions. At Raiford, Florida's execution site, convicts enter the room and are strapped to a gurney. After being asked if they have any last words and the final order from an official is given, they are injected with a painkiller and anesthesia, to render them unconscious and ensure they feel absolutely no pain. They drift off into a peaceful, painless slumber. A fatal mix of drugs then begins its journey into their veins to stop the heart and force the cessation of life. It is quiet, peaceful, serene and absolutely painless. The offender's exodus from the world is a luxury. A luxury that their victims - who may have begged for their lives, who may have been tortured or abused - never had. There are those bleeding hearts that will tell you that the death penalty has never served as a deterrent to crime. Statistics tell me that not a single executed convict has ever committed another crime. That is proof enough for me. "The death penalty should not only be kept in place, but also enforced more quickly. Those sentenced to the death penalty that spend years, if not decades, on death row are spending taxpayers money to stay in almost luxurious prisons," said sophomore Lindsey Donaldson. With the current state of criminology, DNA and forensic science, it is a virtual certainty that the convicted are, in reality, the perpetrators. Of the prisoners exonerated in the last five years, the majority were convicted prior to the 1990s. This fact proves that while there still may be a margin for error, it is dwindling with time and remarkable technological breakthroughs. On Feb. 26, an article in The Boston Globe announced that a group of lawmakers in Springfield are aiming to terminate Illinois' moratorium on death penalty executions. Rather than adhere to the reasonable-doubt clause, they hope to abide instead by "guilt beyond any doubt" when formulating a conclusion during the penalty phase in a capitol case. The lawmakers believe this will minimize the risk of putting the wrong person to death because it will eliminate any chance of error, only sentencing those who have been proven guilty beyond any doubt to death. In other words, those criminals with blood on their hands. "The death penalty should be used in extreme cases only, like when a person has brutally killed people. But in reality, I don't think I'm for it. I think the worst punishment in life is to spend it in prison, thinking about the crime you've committed day in and day out," said junior Alethea Perez. I truly hurt for that one man or woman wrongly accused and convicted. But, not nearly as much as I hurt for the victims and families of the Ted Bundys, John Wayne Gacys, Jeffrey Dahmers and Charles Mansons of the world. As a result of our insistence that the rights of the accused weigh more than the rights of the victims, these men could be stalking you and your children right now. So, which innocents have greater rights? (source: Opinion, The Beacon)
